Ninja of Itex
by MaximumRide101
Summary: Discontinued. Possibly up for re-write.
1. Fight of the Ninja Part 1

**A/N: I just want to say that I don't own Maximum Ride, but I own the army and the ideas of weapons shown in the next chapter.**

* * *

"Duck and roll!" someone shouted behind me, and I followed the instructions without hesitation. Something came flying right above my head, missing it by inches. I rolled onto my stomach and army-crawled into the underbrush. A bullet hit right by my head and I rolled to the left, again on my stomach, before finishing my frenzied crawl into the bushes. A bellow came from behind me and I turned while remaining on the ground. I stared at a pair of feet right in front of me and shuffled backwards some more. The end of a gun smashed a centimeter from my nose and I froze in an instant.

"No one's there!" the same voice from before shouted. "You just proved it." The feet left my view, and suddenly I got hit on the shoulder with the gun and sucked in a hissing breath. There was a great tactic - lure the prey into a false sense of security and then attack. I tucked and rolled out of the bush, jumping to my feet. This was the worst scenario yet! My one partner-in-crime (literally) was being held still by two Erasers, werewolf-looking guys who were attacking. That just left me against ten Erasers, including those that held my friend.

Personally, I didn't like the odds, one against ten. But these scenarios had never been fair, had never been easy. They were to test Tauros and my endurance, our strength, our wits. Tauros had lost this one big time, since he'd failed to escape and to take down our enemies. He's lost as many as he's won.

Right now it was just me, my strength, and my endless hours of training coming into play. I jumped backwards, did a flip and landed in front of a tree, before jumping, grabbing a branch, and hawling myself onto it, all in one fluid motion. The Erasers stared at where I'd been standing before, dumbstruck. My shoulder ached from the strain I'd used to pull myself up and from the attack.

Down below, the Erasers had figured out where I'd gone and were advancing, feral smiles on their faces as they sniffed out their prey - me. Before even thinking - since that would lead to thinking too long and getting caught, as I'd been taught - I jumped from my perch. My feet plowed into one Eraser, taking it to the ground underneath me. I'd hit it in the face and it was out cold. I crouched there for a moment and Tauros was grinning from where he was. Suddenly everything sprang into life.

The Erasers all pounced at once. I kicked one down, but was quickly pinned to the ground, my arms held down by heavy Erasers, as well as my legs. One punched me in the gut and I sat up as best I could, gasping for breath. Then I got a kick in the face. I felt my lip split and could taste blood. I coughed it up and got kicked in the side. I groaned and moved my head, then got a boot slammed right into my face. My world went dark right afterwards.

I woke up a half hour later, lying on my back in the hologram room. The reality-hologram-projection was just something the whitecoats had perfected in order to train us, their mutant army of ninjas. They called us spies, but I thought of us more as ninjas.

Someone was talking near the door, arguing: "He did perfectly fine until then! We need to increase his strength and speed so that he can avoid those kinds of attacks." They were referring to me. The leader of the mutant-army.

"That might work. We need to train him on some simpler scenarios first, however. We had completely skipped the sixteenth through ninteenth to get to this one. Him and the team need work on all of them," another voice argued.

"Why not just go to scenario fifty? We'll train the whole team at once there," the first said. I sat up, aching all over. My lip was dripping blood onto the floor and down my chin, I could feel an eye swelling, and it felt like one of my ribs had been cracked. Another had probably been bruised at least. The pain in my shoulder seemed muted in comparison, though it was still there.

Two whitecoats were arguing heatedly near the door but stopped when I groaned, wiping blood from my lip. One of them left and the other, my main tutor, came closer. "We would have moved you, but we didn't know how serious your injuries were. How're you holding up, Master?" he asked politely. He was only ever this kind when I was hurt, otherwise he was really strict.

"Fine," I said thickly. "Just need to rest." The whitecoat pulled me to my feet and helped to steady me - I felt lightheaded and about ready to fall. He supported me while I stumbled towards my room. The army had their own rooms in the lab, since we weren't prone to running away and the whitecoats had ditched the cages. There weren't any other experiments to use them on, anyway. All those had been killed off - we were ones that wanted to stay and fight. All thirty of us.

The whitecoat led me to my bed and I fell down on it instantly, welcoming the soft cusioning it provided. "Thanks, Dad," I muttered, burying myself in my covers.

"Get some rest," Jeb said kindly before leaving the room.


	2. Fight of the Ninja Part 2

_"Master, come on, time for your training." A little three-year-old with blond hair and dull red eyes cowered in the corner of his cage from the man in the white coat in front of him. The scary, gray-haired man who kept calling him 'son.' "Come on, son. It's okay. You'll be okay." The man unlocked the boy's cage and offered his hand. Hesitantly, small fingers curled around his hand and Master crawled out from the cage._

_FLASH!_

_Six-year-old Master cringed and looked away. Jeb's eyes softened as he looked at the nine-year-old girl that was running the mazes. She had collapsed at the end, her feet burned, crying silently. "It's over, it's okay," Jeb said kindly, picking up the little girl. Master shuddered and looked at the girl, who wore the same white clothes as him, had the same blond hair. He gulped when he looked at his sister's tear-stained face._

_FLASH!_

_"Take me, too!" Master shouted in desperation, but no one heard. He sat down and cried in the farthest corner of his cage, refusing to look at the door where his dad had passed just minutes ago, carrying a little toddler, five other kids - including his sister - following the man. The seven-year-old noticed his three-year-old half-brother in the hall, watching their father leave with the six experiments._

_FLASH!_

_The needle penetrated his arm and a clear liquid was shot into his blood stream. His eyes blurred and his memories did, too, until most of them faded - the ones about his sister and the other kids that his dad had taken away. The only parts of that that remained were his father and his half-brother, Ari. He was only eight._

_FLASH!_

_Master growled and backed away, hitting the wall, his hands curled into defiant fists. They wouldn't take this ten-year-old without a fight! A whitecoat advanced, needle of glowing stuff in hand. Master snap-kicked it across the room and crouched into a fighting position. He pounced like a cat, knocking the whitecoat to the ground. Another one came up behind him and knocked him out with a well-aimed hit._

_FLASH!_

_"Master, help!" Flame shouted, tears streaking down her face. He moved to get her away from the whitecoats and Erasers but he was held back. "Master! Don't let them take me!" The truck that was to take her to the Institute waited right outside. Eleven-year-old Master elbowed his holder in the gut and their grip on his shoulder relaxed. He made to get Flame away from her escorts, but was thrown in the truck as well._

_FLASH!_

_He followed a group of kids through the sewers. One of them looked familiar, but he couldn't place them. It was two months after his shipment to the Institute, and he'd already broken out with the others. Outside he and the others ran away from the dark kid that had been leading them, running into the dark New York night while Ari attacked the familiar girl in the sewers._

_FLASH!_

_"I'm not going back!" Master shouted, kicking and punching any Eraser he saw. He was the last one still conscious with fifteen Erasers still standing. Not a fair match. He was finally knocked out and woke up in a cage at the School again. Twelve._

_FLASH!_

_"I'll do whatever I need to! Just don't get rid of me, too," Master whimpered, looking at his dead best friend in front of him, having just been exterminated by the whitecoats. He looked pleadingly at his father, whose eyes softened, and he nodded._

_"Will you serve Itex, Master?" Jeb asked, looking his thirteen-year-old son in the eye. Master nodded._

_"Sure, anything," he promised. It sealed his fate as the leader of the mutant army._

I jolted into a sitting position the next morning in a cold sweat. Wiping my head, I shuddered, thinking back to my nightmare. Reliving every bad choice, every terrible thing I'd done... It scared the heck out of me! My life had been full of pain, horror, and all things that make up nightmares. Some of these weren't even scary, and all of them could be worse.

Taking shuddering breaths, I rocked back and forth on my bed. That girl that I saw so often - the one that looked a little like me... I knew her from somewhere. From where, I couldn't tell, but I still knew her. And this wasn't the first time I'd seen her. Her face haunted me every night, like a distant memory, and every morning I couldn't place it. I had told Dad and he'd said it was just an experiment from a few years ago and not to worry. It didn't help.

"Master?" A light knock on my door followed my name, before the door was opened and my dad entered. "Good, you're awake. You're needed in the meeting room - the others are there waiting. I'll explain everything on the way there." I nodded and threw some clothes on, before following my dad down the hall to the meeting room, a room specifically designed for the army. The others were there waiting, and I gave them the same speech my dad had given - we were out on our first mission: To capture run-away experiments from three years ago.

* * *

"Shush. We're not supposed to be loud," I hissed to our youngest army member, who was four. He gave me a nervous smile and stepped off of the stick...and onto another. "Oh, brother. Who the heck trained you?"

"Rylie," he whispered. That explained it! Rylie was terrible at working with us and didn't know the difference between being stealthy and being attention-grabbing.

"Well be quiet or else you'll have to go with another group," I said under my breath. I stepped over a large, brittle branch. "Just step where I step." I looked back and the little boy nodded, following in my footsteps. Literally. We resumed our silent stalk towards the clearing. The army had been on the hunt for a week now, and we'd finally managed to find the experiments. I'd had everyone spread out within a half-mile radius of the clearing and sneak nearer, closing the circle as we went. "Stop. Stay back - reinforcements," I said out of the corner of my mouth. I could barely hear the same order coming from the groups on either side of me. We were far enough away from the camp that they couldn't hear us.

"Mind blocks," I whispered into a microphone in front of my mouth. I adjusted the headset so that I could hear responses easier. I got twenty-nine 'okays'. "Move closer - stop outside the clearing. Stay quiet," I ordered. I moved closer, watching where I stepped. The light of a fire started to inch into the trees. I got to the edge of the trees and grabbed a tree branch, disappearing into the leaves. One of the seven figures around the fire looked in my direction quickly.

"What's wrong?" I heard a girl ask.

"I heard something. It must have been a bird or something, though. It was in the tree." The figure looked away, and the group around the fire was quiet again. "I'll take first watch," the same kid said a little bit later. The others grumbled 'okays' and lay down.

"Wait," I breathed into the microphone as the boy who'd heard me sat down under my tree, his eyes closed. He didn't seem to have heard me. We waited until we were sure almost all of them were asleep. "Go." I dropped from the tree, and the boy jumped up. I covered his mouth before he could shout out a warning. "Don't speak. There are twenty-nine fight-worthy mutants around the area." The boy didn't speak and I saw his hand creeping towards his pocket. "Leave it," I snarled. His hand moved away from his pocket.

By now the others had awoken by my army covering their mouths in their sleep. I held the arms of the boy to prevent his running and uncovered his mouth. He seemed pale and nervous. "Let go!" I heard snarled from one of them. It distracted me and the boy elbowed me in the stomach. I bent over, gasping for breath, and had let go of his arms.

"Come in!" I shouted into my headpiece. Ten seconds later, fifteen more kids came and joined in the fight. The others were outnumbered but still fighting for their freedom. _Good job, Master. But you may want to listen to me -_

_Not now!_ I snapped, rolling away and out of an attack and towards one of my fallen friends. I put a hand to their head and they were up in a moment. Healing pads were helpful. All of us were equipped with them on our gloves. More of my army were falling and then getting healed again while the run-away experiments weren't doing so hot.

A sudden noise caught my attention. "Scatter!" I shouted into the headset, moving to the trees. But I didn't get far. Before I could get into the safety of the shadows, something grabbed the collar of my shirt and yanked me backwards. I heard someone scream. "Run! Retreat!" I shouted into the microphone before it was ripped from my head and stomped under a large foot. I winced.

_I tried to warn you,_ the Voice said. I ignored it and tried to yank myself away from my attacker, but it was failing miserably. I was just dragged backwards by my shirt collar, which was starting to choke me.

"Get the rest of the _army,_" a voice ordered behind me, no doubt from my captor, saying 'army' as if it were a curse word. I saw a group of wolf guys run past me, twice as many as there were in the army. The kids were dead meat...if they were found. The wolf guy holding me was starting to get cocky in the fact that I wouldn't fight back and his grip released on my collar. I managed to wriggle free and do a front-flip and land a few feet away. It had prevented him from grabbing me instantly again. I turned and looked at the wolf guy who growled and ran towards me.

Before I got rammed, I jumped over his head and landed directly behind him. In the moment it took for him to look around, confused, before facing me, I took a chance around. None of the rest of the army had been captured yet, and one of the other experiments was being held by two, and she was fighting hard. I saw a wing that was slashed deeply coming out of the back of her shirt. When the wolf guy turned towards me, I pushed a button in my glove. A compartment opened and the world's tinniest bomb - even smaller than the cherry bomb - came out into my palm, already activated. I threw it and it exploded in the wolf guy. "Ew..." I muttered, looking at the dead experiment.

These things looked oddly familiar. They had a weird name, too... Erasers! That was it. The name clicked in my brain instantly. I'd forgotten it in the fight, since it wasn't necessary at the moment. I looked down at the dead Eraser. His vest had the red 'T' for Tyron on it. Tyron was Itex's enemy - both wanted to control the world, and neither was going to do it while the other was still up. His vest reminded me a lot like my own, bullet-proof one I was wearing right now, with a blue 'I' on it for Itex.

"Oof," I grunted, getting plowed into the ground from behind. I'd forgotten about the other two Erasers still in the clearing. I felt my hands bound behind my back and my gloves taken off, taking away my healing, bombs, and computer. I growled and fought the Eraser but it didn't work all that well. I was hauled up off the ground, feeling helpless again. Until another idea came to mind. I looked at my boots and pressed a button on the toe of one with the other shoe. A dagger shot from my boot, at my back. It was made that way so that my enemy couldn't see it from the front. I moved my hands so I caught it, then slashed the Eraser's wrist. I cut the ropes binding my hands in one fluid motion. The girl looked at me suspiciously.

The Eraser holding the experiment was saying something hurriedly, making sure she couldn't get away at the same time. I made to advance towards the Eraser and claim my own prize, the experiment _I'd_ been hunting before being attacked, when I heard a noise in the underbrush behind me. I turned quickly. Five Erasers were coming back, snarling at me. I grabbed another flying dagger from my boot and held them both at the ready. One Eraser pounced and I slashed it across the face, then stabbed it in the heart. I left that dagger inside of the Eraser and gave the others a sly grin.

"Watch out!" the girl cried, and it was almost against her will that she warned me. I turned and saw three more behind me. Dread filled my stomach...I knew this scenario too well. The training scenario - my one 'ally' was held captive and I was surrounded, outnumbered by Erasers. But that time I didn't have my weapons. Three of them attacked at once, holding me after a brief fight. The other four seemed assured that I wouldn't get away this time and left to go after my army again. My hands were bound in front of me this time, my daggers and boots taken away and thrown to one side. But I still had one more thing...my secret weapon.

At the moment, one Eraser was now holding me by the shoulder, confident that I couldn't get away without my weapons. The others had followed their friends into the trees. I reached up and hit the chest of my bullet-proof vest. Two slits opened in the back and my brown wings spread out. The Eraser backed away in shock and I took to the air. For a moment I circled, below the five figures above me that were the experiments I'd been tracking. I had to forget them for now. I had to save myself.

Before I could react, I heard a crack from below. I screamed as one of my wings was hit with a bullet, before plummeting to the ground. I heard a scream from above me, before I smashed against the ground hard and let unconsciousness take over.


	3. Fight of the Ninja Part 3

"Ugh..." I groaned, holding my head. I frowned, realizing my hands were unbound, and tentantively opened my eyes. I groaned again and closed them, blocking out the sight of a cage from my view. I hadn't been held in a cage for a year, and it brought back painful memories. My pounding headache didn't help, either. I realized that my gloves, boots, and vest were all gone, leaving me weaponless, defenseless. And not so much...myself anymore.

Finally I faced the horror of the cage and sat up. I winced as I jostled my wing, which was bound to keep me from bleeding to death. I looked at the other cages I could see - two were occupied, each by one of the experiments I'd been hunting. One was the girl, of course, the other was a boy, also a few years older than myself. He had dark hair and eyes, while the girl had blond hair and brown eyes. She looked a lot like the girl from my dreams, except she was older. No longer ten.

The experiments glared at me and I shuddered. Only Dad had ever given me that intense of a glare and it made me nervous. Made me feel like I did something wrong. And every time I did something wrong, I got beaten, since apparently pain was supposed to help me learn. "Why were you attacking us?" the girl growled silently, as if scared to be overheard.

"It was part of my orders - to find and capture all of you and bring you back. Dad said I had to. It was my first mission - I just wanted to make him proud," I muttered. "And I could get killed if I defyed him. It's been that way for a year." The experiments traded looks.

"Who's your dad?" the boy asked.

"A guy called Jeb Batchelder," I answered. The girl took on a shocked look. "What'd I say?" I asked innocently. For once, it was real innocence, not fake I-did-it-but-I'm-saying-otherwise innocence.

"A name," the boy said vaguely.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I sighed. I spread my wing out and rubbed the spot where it had been shot. "I could really use my gloves right about now," I muttered under my breath. It seemed the two experiments were about to say something, but the door opened. A whitecoat entered, looking smug.

"The two Batchelder children and another rouge avian-hybrid," he sneered. Wait...two Batchelder children? I looked between the two experiments. The girl was glowering and the boy remained emotionless. "Master," the whitecoat said, also as if that word was a curse word. "We need to see how well your father trained you." 

"Only when I'm dead," I spat. "I may not have any weapons anymore, but I can still kick your butt as soon as you open this God-forsaken cage, just as easily as crushing the front of a car." That was my way of saying, "Just as easy as crushing a tin can." You had to give an exaggerated sense of your powers, to make them nervous.

"If you do that, you could meet the same fate," the whitecoat said. I didn't have a retort this time, and that was a first. Instead I just sat there defiantly, refusing to move. I could be as stubborn as a mule when I wanted to be - I swear I have mule DNA in there somewhere. My cage was opened and the whitecoat waited for me to crawl obediently out.

"You'll die of old age before I obey you," I said conversationally. I saw the girl hide a smirk behind her hand. "Have fun." The whitecoat reached in and grabbed my arm to drag me out. I planted me feet against the front of the cage - there was still a little bit of metal that surrounded the cage door. I winced as the whitecoat threatened to pull my arm out of its socket, pulling back to get it free. He let go and I was sent sprawling backwards, whacking my head against the cage. The whitecoat took the opportunity while I was dazed and dragged me out.

Once I was standing I swung a punch and hit him full in the face. He crumpled easily. I made to help the two experiments, to make them forgive me for my previous actions, when a jolt was sent through my whole body. I collapsed to the ground, trying to escape the electric shock that ran through my body. It finally stopped and I lay there on the cold tile, panting, feeling my hair sticking up on end. My ankle burned - I could feel a band of metal there. Of course. I should have figured that they wouldn't let me walk out without protection for themselves.

I was picked up and carried out of the room. I was strapped to a hospital bed and a wire was attached to my forehead. I tried to break the bindings around my wrists and ankles, but it was a futile attempt. The whitecoats were gathered around a monitor - I saw words scrawling down, images. My memories. They were reading my mind like an open book! Finding out all of Itex's secrets entrusted to me. I growled and thrashed around on the bed. They didn't pay me any attention. One of my bindings on my wrist started to loosen and I slipped my hand out, ripping the cord from my forehead and ending the whitecoat's information stream. Now that caught their attention.

The shock band was activated again and I screamed loudly, cracking the glass on the computer screen. The whitecoats, covering their ears, advanced. One of them risked uncovering their ears for a moment to dig a needle into my arm. I stopped screaming and the world went blank again.

When I woke up I was being carried. These guys loved to knock me out, didn't they? I heard a door open, and then a cage, before I was thrown inside, hard. I moaned pitifully as I hit the metal floor of the cage and crawled up onto hands and knees, coughing harshly. A bit of blood came from my mouth because of the electric shock and landed on the floor below me. I wiped my lips and stayed in that position, shuddering. I looked up and cowered when another whitecoat entered, but they didn't seem interested in me. They were interested in the girl. "Come now, Max, cooperate." Max...the name sounded so familiar. It seemed like it would click any moment now, but it didn't. It was on the tip of my tongue, yet alluded me.

Max and the whitecoat left, leaving me alone - the boy was gone, too. I shuddered and coughed again, and again the door opened. The boy was being led into the room, and then into his own cage, which was locked, before his escort-whitecoat left. "Where's Max?" he questioned.

"They just took her out," I said hoarsely. I managed to control my shaking and sit normally, leaning so that my forehead rested against the cold metal of my cage. "Be glad that you are against Itex."

"Why?" the boy asked. I laughed, my voice rough and terrible-sounding.

"They'd do this to either of you," I whispered, not wanting to speak any more, and motioned to myself. Then I curled up like I had when I was a little kid in the lab and fell asleep in my protective ball.

I woke up with another groan. I hurt all over from the shock band around my ankle that had mercilessly electrocuted me. I could feel my hair still standing on end from the night before. This time I sat up without hesitating - no use trying to wish the whole thing away. That childhood superstition wouldn't work. Max and the boy were both still asleep - Max was thrashing around and muttering to herself. Dad had warned me of it, so it wasn't that surprising.

I leaned against my cage and rubbed my forehead with one hand, the other curling around one of the metal bars. I had yet to figure out how to get out of this predicament, and it would help if I had some contact with the army. _Yo, Master._ I jumped and smacked the top of my head against the cage._ Where are you? The others are worried sick. Your dad's getting kinda stressed, though he keeps ranting about Tyron._

_Ranger, you scared the heck out of me!_ I thought back, trying to calm my racing heart. _And I'm stuck in a freaking cage in the Tyron headquarters. Have any ideas on how to get me out of here? With two of the experiments we were tracking?_ For a moment there was silence, as if Ranger had decided not to answer all of a sudden, then... 

_I know a way - you'll be out of there within a day. Soldier's promise_, he said before leaving me and my thoughts alone again. Even my Voice wasn't speaking up with useful but fortune-cookie advice. I saw Max jolt awake and look around wildly, before quickly looking at the floor of her cage. She frowned then looked at the door expectantly. Nothing happened. 

"What time is it? You know?" she whispered. I shook my head and was pretty much vibrating with anticipation. "What's with you?"

"Escape. Within the day," I whispered back. She looked at me skeptically and I put my hands up. "Hey, I'm just repeating from my source - you don't have to believe it. But it gives me something to look forward to." She nodded and we sat in the dark in silence for the longest time. I saw the boy turn over and almost smack his head on the cage bars. "By the way, what's his name?" Max looked like she didn't know if she could trust me, but finally relented. After all, we were both on the same side right now - locked in cages in an evil incorporation. 

"Fang," she said simply. Well that solved the identity issue. _There's someone coming. You may want to be quiet now_, the Voice said helpfully. I gave a subtle nod and closed my mouth. I saw Max doing the exact same. Weird. 

The door opened and the light turned on. Fang blearily opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. The whitecoat didn't say anything and instead opened up his cage door. Surprisingly he didn't fight against the whitecoats and walked out of the room silently, still not showing any emotion. That kid was wacko.

The whole day we stayed there, Max and me, waiting for Fang's return and our escape. The first came, well, first, and then the latter came just a little after he had been locked up again.

_BOOM!_ The explosion rocked the whole building and I looked around wildly. Fang was smirking, and Max looked ready to spring from her cage on a second's notice. I heard commotion coming from the hallway - shouting, fights, screams. It was terrible. Nerve-wracking. The door was suddenly pushed open and slammed against the other wall. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I recognized one of my army, Ratchet. The cat-human hybrid caught my eye and grinned. 

"Been missing you, Master," he said, kneeling down and picking the lock on my cage. I looked out the door, where I could see other experiments running past the door, and the walls had turned red from emergency lights. Ratchet noticed my glance and smirked. "We couldn't resist. A good destraction always helps." He was still struggling with the lock. "How does Nerion do it?" he growled, looking about ready to give up, before the lock clicked and my cage opened.

"Patience," I answered. I ran to the door and looked back and forth. At one end, Erasers were trying to keep anyone from leaving, at the other were whitecoats. In between were the experiments, looking like scared sheep now. "Get them out, too," I ordered, glancing back. Ratchet nodded and started on Max's lock. I heard another explosion. "Who's setting those off?"

"Some other kids we met up with," Ratchet explained, and the lock popped on Max's cage. "Two of them had bombs and, well, those proved as good destractions, too. No one can think straight when they're being bombed."

"Amen to that," I muttered, looking at the blockades again. "Triss going to handle this?"

"Yep. She's waiting for the signal." Fang's lock popped open, too, and he wasted no time climbing out of the cage. I looked at Ratchet, waiting for him to elaborate. "This signal." He let out a loud lion's roar that echoed around the hallway. Max covered her ears.

"Five, four, three, two -" I counted down, before the wall directly in front of us became transparent and tangible. "Go!" I made sure the other three got through it first before following. The wall went solid behind us. A few of the other experiments had made it through before it closed. "Oh, wait! My stuff."

"Nerion has it. He's waiting outside with reinforcements," Ratchet said. "But you can talk to him if you want." He took a headset off of his head and handed it to me. I slipped it on, feeling back in power. While this was going on we were running towards the nearest door.

"How's it going out there?" I asked calmly.

"Master!" Nerion shouted and I winced. "We didn't expect to hear from you this soon. Is everything alright? We're ready to come in if we need to."

"Just dandy," I said with fake cheeriness. A gunshot echoed behind us and a bullet smacked into the wall directly above my head. "Just running for our lives, being shot at by bloodthirsty wolves, the usual." This got a dry laugh out of Nerion.

"We're coming in."

"No need. We're almost there!" I shouted.

"Hit the ground!" Ratchet shouted. I dropped instantly and he pushed Max and Fang to the ground, dropping beside them. A bomb flew overhead and exploded directly behind us. I covered my head as I was showered with debris. And you know what? Inhaling dust wasn't too healthy for you. I started coughing loudly on it as I picked myself up off of the floor. The Erasers behind us were dead - no need to go into details - and two kids were standing in front of us.

"Iggy, Gazzy, you guys okay?" Max said, hurrying over to the two boys.

"Max! We were just coming to help you guys," the older boy said, sounding perplexed. "Who're they?"

"No time to explain. We have to go!" Max said. She nodded towards a hole in the wall from the bomb. I grinned and jumped out, running for the safety of the trees about a quarter mile away. If I could, I would have flown, but my wing was still in terrible condition.

"Master, watch it!" A shadow fell over me and I gulped, looking up quickly. At the last minute I dropped and rolled to the side, avoiding the claws of the biggest eagle I'd ever seen. Its yellow eyes landed on me from up in the air and it moved to dive again. I scrambled up and put on the speed. Again the shadow passed over me, and again I tried to avoid the claws. Empahsis on tried. They dug into my shirt and pulled me away. Fast. I yelped and looked at the quickly receading ground. My only chance was my wings, and those were kind of useless. But it was better than going back to Tyron.

I slipped out of my shirt and let my wings spread open wide to catch myself. I shouted out when the muscles were pulled from the force, and my one wing burned like fire. But I still willed myself to pump my wings towards the trees. Unfortunately, the eagle was smart enough to know it was just carrying a shirt now and turned back towards me. I tried to put on the speed but just lost a couple of feet in altitute. "Not good, not good, not good," I muttered.

"Master, right roll!" Nerion shouted through the headset. Figuring he knew more about what was going on, I rolled. The eagle's talons came within a foot of my head, directly were I'd been. I pulled up, biting my tongue against the pain, and the eagle followed like a guided missile. Unfortunately too, I was the only avian-hybrid in the army, which was one reason why I was the one to lead it.

I did a couple fancy flying moves to try and lose the eagle, but it didn't work. So I just resorted to going as fast as I could towards the trees. It kept pace easily and was starting to gain. Before I knew it, I was over the trees, and the eagle was over me. It dove before I could move and scratched my wings and back. This time I couldn't repress the shout as my wings started to turn from brown to red. I had two slashes on each wing, and two on my back. And I was rapidly losing altitude.

Fifty feet from the ground, my fall quickly slowed. I breathed out in relief for the second time in two minutes as I touched the ground. And staggered right into a tree. "Master, are you okay?" I turned to see Nerion staring at me in concern, his eyes mainly on my bloodied back. He applied a tiny bit of pressure to the wounds and I stiffled a scream. "One of your wings might be broken from the gunshot, the fall, and the bird attack," he guessed. He pressed his gloved hand against my wounds. I felt the two back ones seal up with scars covering them, and the ones on my wings just stopped bleeding. They didn't close up, since the glove couldn't replicate the feathers that would have to grow naturally as it healed. Nerion handed me my gear and I put on my boots and gloves, leaving the vest purposefully off.

"Where are the others?" I asked. Nerion's eyes twinkled.

"Being interrogated by our targets. I think they wanted to ask you a few things. Hey, wait...I thought I saw something on your ankle," he said, a little late, since I'd just put my boot on a few seconds ago.

"Shock band. We'll worry about that later," I assured him. "Lead me to the others." He started to move through the trees, me trailing behind, my wings spread wide - wind went through the slashes since they'd cut right through the wings - and my vest in one arm. I winced every time I moved my wings even slightly.

Nerion led me to a large clearing. Most of my army was lingering at one end, while the other kids were asking Ratchet some questions. "Oi, Master!" he shouted, spotting me. His eyes went wide. "Your wings!"

"I'm fine. Just a couple scratches. No biggie," I said, pretending like it didn't hurt, though that was a lie. He gave me a skeptical look but didn't say anything - the perks of being the leader. I threw my vest to the ground near at tree and looked at the group of six accusingly. Max gave me the exact same stare back. "So we save your lives" - I motioned at Max and Fang - "and your way of thanking us is an interrogation session. Fabulous," I said sarcastically. Ratchet had run off, no doubt to find Nyra, our medical person, in case the gloves didn't have as much of an effect. Like with my wings, for example.

"The way I remember it, you were hunting us down!" Max snapped.

"When you say it that way, you make us seem like the bad guys...but pretty much," I said slowly, nodding. "But I didn't want to get beaten by my dad again!"

"Jeb wouldn't do that," Max said strongly, as if she knew.

"Wanna bet?" I snarled back. She didn't answer and I snorted. "Trust me, I know - I've put up with it for a year. It was that, or get exterminated. I chose to serve Itex instead of die. Though that may be a little far-fetched to you." Max opened her mouth, no doubt to retort, when one of my army ran up to me - Christan, the youngest kid.

"Master, Isle just set a few trees on fire about a half mile away," he said, tugging on my sleeve and pointing to some smoke.

"Tell Ash, Tremor, Tyler, Nerion, Triss, and especially Broker to get their butts over there and put it out!" I ordered. Christan nodded and ran off to the group of six I'd recommended to him, who left only seconds after that, him trailing behind.

"Harsh much?" Iggy muttered.

"Habit. Where were we?"

"You were explaining how you were tracking us down and why," Fang answered.

"Like I said! My dad, Jeb, gave me the mission a couple days ago? Yesterday? I don't know exactly anymore, my mind's all fuzzy. But anyway, he gave me the assignment after I had just gotten by butt kicked by ten Erasers in a simulation. He just said that we were after six kids, and to look out for one that could read minds, and to use or lessons to block from that, and then to bring this mysterious group to Itex. He also muttered something about hoping I wouldn't remember...something, but that much I don't know. And if I didn't do this, and do it right, he'd beat me. Again. Is that enough explanation for you?" I looked between each of the six. The youngest, a blond girl, looked thoughtful. She tugged on Max's sleeve and Max caught her eye. The little girl glanced at me, then back at Max silently. I gave a blank expression.

"You look funny," the other girl snickered. I rolled my eyes but didn't retort this time. Suddenly her eyes went wide. "OMG!" she squealed. "Max, could that really be true? It would be kinda cool and kinda weird at the same time. But it would have to be true, anyway, since he's Jeb's son."

"Mind telling me what she's ranting about?" I asked over her voice. She shut up afterwards and the group traded nervous looks. "Come on, I just explained myself, now you explain what that was about."

"You're Max's half-brother," Gazzy blurted. He covered his mouth and I looked at them in confusion. Then I felt like a jolt had gone through my body, like from the shock collar. Images flashed in my mind, memories.

_A little girl looked at me from the cage across from me. She was seven - I was four. She had a couple bruises on her body. My sister caught my eye and looked at me sadly._

_Max was ten and Jeb was breaking her and the others out. He left me there in the cage, Ari at the School, too. Both of us watched our father leaving with the bird kids._

_Seeing Max on the news in Dad's office, flying away from a football game. The bird kids were behind her._

_Hearing about her countless times from Dad, how she was one of the best avian experiments to ever be created. How I was starting to surpass her, however._

I snapped out of my memories, grimacing. Those had been locked away when I was eight! They'd been far out of reach for all that time - in half of those memories that had played in front of me, I hadn't even recognized my sister! Only from when she was three to eleven did I know her. Past that, it was just another figure that the whitecoats had made. I swayed slightly on the spot, my hand on my forehead, but I kept from passing out this time. Now I just had one of the biggest headaches that had ever occured with me. I snapped back to reality and looked at the flock, who were staring at me oddly. I just gave a large sigh and rubbed my head, listening to forgotten memories about her. The truth had hit me, and hit me hard - I really _was_ Max's half-brother.


	4. Fight of the Ninja Part 4

That night we were still in the same clearing, groups sitting around many little camp fires. Isle had started most of them with Iggy's help. But the flock were staying a ways away from my army, and I was sitting there with them. I wanted to know a few things, and had left Ratchet and Ranger in charge. That way I could get some answers to all the questions swirling around in my head. I'd gotten all of their names - Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, Fang, Max, and they normally had a dog with them named Total. I'd seen the dog when we went to attack, but apparently they left him at Max's mom's house.

"Okay...so do you know why Jeb left me and my little brother there?" I asked, blowing on a hotdog to get the tip to go out.

"No clue," Fang answered.

"Okay, next question: did you know at all that we were related when you were at the School?"

"No. I recognized you the other day when I saw you, but it was like with Ari. I'd thought Jeb had left him with his mom, and you to be taken care of there. The way I remember it, you had it pretty well off, other than living in a cage," Max said. I shrugged.

"I guess. So I had a teeny bit more freedom, big whoop. Dad had never liked me as much as you or Ari. I mean, come on, he let Ari trail behind him like the puppy he is and he let you out seven years ago," I pointed out. I frowned. "By the way, where is he? I've missed him at the School." The flock stayed silent, mainly.

"You missed him? He's mean. He tried to kill us. He almost killed Fang once," Nudge said, astonished. I snorted.

"Yeah, right," I said, rolling my eyes, before looking at the older three again. "So where is he? Dad hasn't been wondering."

"He died. Three years ago. Jeb was there. He knew about it," Max answered. My heart sank. Ari had been my brother! My little brother. And he was dead? He would be ten now. But of course, the expiration date didn't want him to hit eight. I noticed that I was crying and wiped the tears away angrily. How could Dad have allowed that expiration date to still function?! He'd disabled the flock's and mine - he'd shown me how. If I'd known Ari was in for that terrible fate, I would have gotten rid of his, too.

"Did you really like him?" Gazzy asked quietly. I looked up at him.

"He was my brother. Of course I did!" I said. "I can't believe he's really dead. But that would explain why I haven't seen him since he left when I was eleven." Max put a hand on my shoulder and I looked at her, feeling like a little kid again. Every now and again she would do the same thing at the School, when she had the chance. She gave me a small smile and I returned it. "Are you sure he's really gone this time? I remember him being brought back to life a few years ago," I said quietly.

"He's really gone this time. It was his expiration date," Iggy said. I knew it, but I had wanted to make sure. I sniffed and wiped my eyes again, nodding. I stood up and moved away from everyone and into the shadows. Jumping into a tree, I thought back to Ari. He'd been a cool little brother. Sure, a little harsh and bloodthirty at times, but that was just because he was an Eraser and couldn't help it. I laid back on a branch, a leg dangling off the edge, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

"Master." I jolted awake and almost fell off of my branch. Instead I jumped gracefully to the ground, but it was kind of a wasted attempt when I moved my wings. Nyra had bandaged them up and gotten the bones in line again, and they still hurt like fire. So did my back, where my new scars were, for that matter.

Christan looked up at me curiously. "What are we going to do? Should we finish the mission? Or should we just go back now?" he asked. I had been thinking the same things during the night when I'd woken up in a cold sweat countless times, but still didn't have an answer.

"Let me eat first, then I'll answer," I said, trying to buy some time. Christan nodded and ran off to the others. I saw that my army was packing up the stuff we had with us, and the flock were packing their own things, ready to go their seperate ways. I stumbled over to the camp and snagged a Poptart package from a still-open pack, snacking on the pastries as I sat against a tree.

My mind was torn in two different ways. First, taking the flock to Dad. It would get me praise and probably an even better position if I succeeded, which was what I wanted. Or I could return empty handed. If that happened, I would probably be sent packing - I'd seen it happen to an army member before for not doing what they were supposed to. Dad wouldn't lighten up on that rule just because I'm his son. Either way the options stank - turn in my sister and her family, or get sent away to never return, and no doubt have a one day headstart before someone came to kill me off. I hated both options.

I groaned and put my head in my hands, unsure of what to do. _Either way there will be consiquences. Just follow your heart,_ the Voice said. I sighed and put my hands down, staring at the ground. From the corner of my eye I saw Max looking at me, and then at her flock, as if also faced with a hard decision. Even though it wouldn't help, I pounded my head with my hand, willing the answer to come quickly, like it usually did. _Don't think so long - it could get you into trouble during a fight._

_Well you don't know how hard this decision is to me! Get out of my head!_ I shouted in my head. I only succeeded in getting another headache, with the mental shouting and the head-pounding. I groaned again. "Why me?" I muttered, my head falling onto my knees. "Ow." I sat there for a few minutes, until I heard wing beats. I looked up and saw the flock taking off into the sky. There went that option...

I stood and went over to my army, who were waiting my decision. "We're heading back," I announced. "It could take another month to find them again, now that they know we're looking for them, and we don't have enough food or money for that kind of trip. We need to turn in this assignment." Most people were shocked by my decision, and Ratchet suddenly looked angry. I braced myself for an argument.

"Oh, no! We are not turning down on this just because you suddenly have a soft heart for your sister. All of us want to get this done so that we can get another assignment and help Itex. We are not returning yet! And with the money and food, we are good enough theives to feed ourselves if we need to."

"We are not going after them all over again! One of us would get killed by the time we got there, at least one. Most people will be injured like myself, and some of our weapons might have run out. Come on! I mean, I no longer have my wings, my daggers, my bomb! All I have is my computer and my healing pads. I'm pretty sure others have used up some of their weapons against those Tyron tyrants! Do you expect us to go through this empty-handed?" I snapped, my nerves already frayed to the extreme.

"Only you were stupid enough to use every weapon you own! Most kids here have powers that surpass speed and strength. You couldn't even get out of an Eraser's grip with that 'strength' of yours! Everyone here is prepared for a fight, and a fight we want this to be," Ratchet shouted back.

"You know that powers drain our energy! What if it's us against a hundred Erasers? Our energy and weapons will be depleated quicker. What then, hot shot?"

"_Then_ we can flee, but _that won't happen!_ We are trained to be inconspicuous, to be able to defeat anyone. Or at least we are, though we don't know so much about you," he hissed. "I think you better stand down and let someone more capable take over this mission!" I stumbled back as if I'd been hit, and my jaw dropped. For a second, words had left me as I looked between each one of my army. They were all agreeing with this traitor! One of my best friends, the one who'd sprung me from Tyron! "I should have just left you there if this was how you were going to come back and lead. Even Christan is ready for this!"

"That may be, but my argument still stands," I finally got out. "We are going to deplete our sources quickly if we continue."

"Not if we have a better leader than a stinking bird kid! If someone like me was leading this thing, we would already be going after those other freaks and wouldn't be standing here squandering our time. If someone like me was leading this, we wouldn't have troubles like that!" Ratchet shot back. I forced my tears to stay out of sight. My own army...my friends...were betraying me.

"Fine if you think that you can do it better than me, by all means go ahead. But you'll have a hard time tracking down my sister, I can assure that," I snarled in Ratchet's face. He smirked smugly, having won the argument, and slung a backpack over his shoulder. The others took their respective packs and equipment and followed Ratchet without a word. Even Christan seemed to hate me now. I watched my army disappear into the trees with a growing dread and sat down where I was, my small pile of supplies mocking me. I let the tears fall freely now, and one question went through my head: _What did I do to deserve this?_


	5. Control of the Ninja Part 1

I sat there alone for a while, thinking about what to do now that I had lost my whole army and the flock had left a while ago. I could still return, but that would be just to be sent out again. I now had no purpose to staying there. And guess what. My luck just kept getting better and better! A noise from the direction of the Tyron building, which I recalled we were still extremely close to, roused me from my thoughts. Without a moment's hesitation, I swung into the tree closest to me. I wasn't in the mood for a fight, and like Ratchet said, my strength was useless against them. A few Erasers entered the humongo clearing, armed to the teeth. They had probably been alerted of our presense by mine and Ratchet's argument, but hadn't been able to get together for a little bit.

From where I was, I could see everything they were doing. One looked at a couple fire pits and burnt himself on an ember. Another spotted my supplies quickly. "There's one more still here," he growled, nodding to my ninja supplies and my pack. Silently, I slid further into the shadows, to avoid being seen. The other two came over, and one picked up my gloves cautiously. He pushed the button and the hidden bomb compartment opened, but it didn't come out, since I'd already used it.

"It's the Itex escapee," the Eraser announced, looking around, his eyes burning. I recognized this one as the one who'd been watching my fight and trying to retrain Max at the same time. No wonder he knew about the button! It was pretty much camoflauged. I held my breath, just in case. The last one, the smallest, gave an evil grin and nudged his buddies. I gulped as he nodded towards my hiding place. Knowing I was caught by scent now, I clammered up to the top of the tree. One of the Erasers had jumped up right as I started climbing and scratched lines down my boot, my only equipment I still had.

It would soon be that I was cornered at the top of the tree. I could either go with them, or chance my wings. An idea suddenly sprang to mind as I stood there, grabbing the tree truck to prevent from falling. I could go with them, but working with them this time. It would give me another chance to find the flock, and a chance to get back at my army since they'd deserted me. I smirked but stayed there until the attempts to reach me died down. I could just barely see the three Erasers lingering at the base of the trunk, waiting for me to appear. One of them held a gun to shoot me down if they had to.

I had to play this right, or else I could end up dead from one of those menacing guns that the Erasers were equipped with. Slowly, I eased myself down from my hiding place. The Erasers noticed and circled the tree expectantly, waiting for me to get close enough to grab. But I stayed carefully out of reach, but in sight. Exactly where I wanted to be. "I have a deal for you," I said, loud enough they could hear me perfectly fine. The three of them seemed surprised at the announcement.

"This is just another smooth-talk to get out of it," the head Eraser growled. I pretended to be offended.

"No," I gasped, as if it was the must ludicrous thing I'd ever heard. "It's a real deal. On your part, you don't shoot." I paused, waiting for them to spring the question.

"And on your part?" the smallest asked cautiously.

"I come to Tyron, not as a captive experiment, but as one of the...fighters of Tyron. Deal?" I said hopefully. This was either my stupidest idea yet, or my greatest one. We wouldn't know for sure until it folded out. And even then it might be too late.

I lingered on my branch, waiting for their reactions. It was mainly suspicion, skepticism, and amusement all rolled into one. I didn't know anyone could show all those at once, and one of them had a stupid look on his face from the combination. It looked like he'd just eaten something sour. I waited for them to say something, either that or shoot me down on the spot, but neither happened. "So is it a deal?" I pressed, breaking the silence.

"It's a deal," the head Eraser said, clicking the safety on his gun and putting it back on his belt. The other two did the same. Still a little cautious, I jumped down from my perch and in front of them. They didn't attack, so it was true that they were taking my proposal seriously, as they should be. "Just follow us, okay kid?"

"The name's Master," I said in reply, trailing behind the head Eraser after snagging my stuff. There was no reply, but as long as they weren't attacking, I didn't care. I was led to the Tyron building and inside it. When we entered, I stiffened nervously. At the moment, I knew I could trust these three, but I was still on edge. I was in the enemy's territory now, so I couldn't be too cautious.

Two of the Erasers branched off, no doubt to do some other duties, while I followed the head one. He led me into a room and told me to wait by the door, while he went across it to a whitecoat. He muttered something in the whitecoat's ear, and they turned to face me, the Eraser leaving. "I heard that you wanted to join Tyron?" he said expectantly.

"Yes, sir," I answered politely. "I'm not working for Itex any more."

"Why is that?" the whitecoat question. I muttered my answer, and he seemed to strain to hear. "Speak up so I can hear you."

"I got overthrown," I said sheepishly. You wouldn't have if you had done what you were supposed to. I ignored my Voice and tried to refrain from glaring at nothing.

"Well you made a good choice, Master," the whitecoat praised. I smiled. "There's just one thing that you need to do, first."

"What?" I asked suspiciously. The whitecoat took something out of his pocket and offered it to me in a fist. I held my hand out and he dropped it on my palm. It was a small, red pill, about the size of my index fingernail. "What do I have to do with this?" I asked.

"Take it. You need to get rid of any illnesses that you may be carrying, even if you don't know it," the whitecoat said, smiling. I shrugged. Sounded okay to me. I swallowed the pill in one fluid motion. It tasted kind of fruity. I blinked and shook my head, which was starting to get a little bit fuzzy. "Alright. Now go ahead and meet up with Slasher, and he'll show you to where you'll be staying." The whitecoat suddenly had a strange smirk on his face. I dismissed it and left the room, looking for the Eraser from before. My mind was still kind of fuzzy and I couldn't think straight. It was weird. Kind of like right after I got my memory wiped.

I found Slasher a few rooms down, having a snack. "The whitecoat guy told me to come and find you so you can show me where I'm staying," I said, almost without thinking about it. That was weird, too. He smirked at my quick explanation and stood up from his table, leaving his bag of chips there.

"Then follow me," he answered smugly. I meant to hesitate, but that didn't happen. Instead I just followed Slasher obediently. He chuckled to himself. "Smart," he snickered appreciatively. I raised an eyebrow in question but the actual words didn't leave my lips. He stopped in front of a door and opened it for me. It looked a lot like my room in Itex, which didn't help. I was homesick enough. "This is your room," he said. I entered and he closed the door after me. I went and fell down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly something hit me and I bolted upright. They had just controlled my mind with that pill!


End file.
